Erawan Shrine

by Malinda Wood
Built in 1956 to ease the mishaps that plagued the construction of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, the Erawan shrine has become a popular place of worshippers who seek spiritual power to help them achieve their goals in life and business. The notion of the shrine is similar to spirit shrines erected in houses and in front of commercial buildings in Thailand. Obviously influenced by Hinduism, the shrines are believed to bring good lucks to worshippers. Located at the intersection of Bangkok's famous shopping street in front of the Grand Hyatt hotel, Erawan Shrine is perhaps the most respected and visited shrine in Thailand.
The shrine consists of a gold leaf plated statue of 4- headed 8-armed Hindu god Brahma seated inside a shrine that is richly decorated with small glasses and tiles. Beside the shrine is a group of classical dance performers available on hand for hire. Each day hundreds of Thais and foreign visitors, particularly Asian tourists, can be seen offering colorful flower garlands, lotus, incense and candles. At the same time they make a wish. If the wish comes true, they will come back to donate small teak elephants or provide a classical Thai dance show or whatever they promise to do or to offer as a grateful note to Brahma. Erawan Shrine is surrounded by some famous Hindu shrines.
For example, the Trimurti shrine and the Genesha Shrine are two revered Hindu deities situated in front of the high-end shopping mall of Central World Plaza while the Lakshmi Shrine can be found inside Gaysorn shopping Plaza. Just across the road from Erawan Shrine in front of the Intercontinental Hotel is a black statue of Vishnu (Narayana) riding a garuda. All of them are easily accessible by sky train (Chidlom Station) and worth a short visit.
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